Here are the winners of Mobile World Congress 2016

The Oscars might be awarding the best in its industry right now. But the recently concluded Mobile World Congress also awarded the best of the mobile tech industry. Some of the big winners include the LG G5 as the “Best new mobile device,” the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge as the “Best smartphone of 2015,” the “Best low cost smartphone” goes to Xiaomi Redmi 2, and the “Best mobile tablet” goes to Microsoft Surface Pro 4. There were 930 entrants this year and these were narrowed down to 170 nominees until we ended up with the 42 winners. The other winners of MWC are listed after the jump if you’re curious to check it out.

Click to read more ...

Packaging of the latest Alcatel phone reportedly doubles as a Google Cardboard VR viewer

Alcatel has found a clever and fun way to make use of its OneTouch Idol 4S device. The packaging the phone comes in will reportedly ship in a plastic box that will work as a Google Cardboard-compatible VR viewer. Like other Google Cardboard devices, all it has are two eyepieces, a slot for holding the phone, and a single button to tap on the screen. It’s not high-tech but it sure is a nifty way to package a device.

The Idol 4S is a mid-range device that runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor with a 5.5-inch quad HD AMOLED display, 3GB of RAM, and 16GB internal storage. It’ll have a 16-megapixel rear shooter and 8-megapixel front-facing camera. It will reportedly sell for under US$400 and will supposedly come out in May.

Source: VentureBeat | Via: The Verge

Google reportedly working on VR OS and new headset

There seems to be more coming from Google when it comes to the virtual reality front. According to Financial Times, Google is working on a more VR-friendly version of its Android operating system as well as developing a new headset that could rival the likes of the Gear VR. We know Google already has Cardboard but that US$10 VR headset can use an upgrade. The supposed new VR headset will also allow you to slide your Android phone in but will have extra sensors to give a more responsive and immersive experience for its user.

At least two of Google's top designers are working on their VR efforts. These include the design department now run by former head of Search Jon Wiley and Joshua To, who is design lead for the company's app design. We're excited to see what their work will produce. The new headset is said to be coming around September or possibly even later than that.

Source: Co.Design

Google dominates mass market VR with 5 million Cardboard viewers, 1000 VR apps

While the world is waiting around for Oculus, Google's already shipped 5 million of its low-cost Cardboard viewers and boasts up to 1,000 VR apps available on its app store. The range of VR experiences available to Cardboard users is staggering with everything from games, to immersive virtual museum tours and even different ways to watch videos and look at panoramic images on smartphones they already own.

On the other end of the spectrum, Google is also enabling creators to make VR experiences with the Cardboard camera app as well as Jump VR authoring suite. 

Next up for Google Cardboard, how about a way to make it less resource intensive on smartphones, which tend to use up a lot of battery life and warm up.

Source: Google